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Tommy had been on the streets for quite some time now. His dad had left at a young age and his mother was killed a few years back. Since then Tommy had been on the move, stealing whatever he could to get bye. It was fine. Tommy didn’t need anyone. As long as he kept his wings hidden and his head down he was fine.
Tommy was currently just outside of a small city in the Antarctic empire. Tommy was fairly new to the Antarctic empire, so he was hesitant to go too far into it. Moving a lot he was accustomed to each new kingdom, each new place, having different ideals. Different opinions on hybrids. A sad majority of which were not very kind.
So he stayed away. He snuck into the cities just long enough to take a few things. A couple of coins left on the counter here, a few fish from a fisherman’s barrel there. He could get a decent amount of supplies on his own but the few things he did take made his life just a little bit easier.
It was a good day. He had stolen a mini cake from a bakery on the edge of the small city. He swore the little old lady behind the counter saw him. She smiled gently as he ‘stealthily’ stuffed the cake into his pocket. He pretended he didn’t notice.
Sweets were a rare thing for Tommy. They always had been. Even when his mom was alive and he didn’t have to worry about wether or not he had food for dinner, they never had much. Beyond a cupcake with a single candle on his birthday and a ginger bread cookie or two around the holidays Tommy rarely got sweets. Even less so now on the streets.
He had finished his cake and added a bit more wood to the fire for the night when he heard a rustle nearby. Tommy was paranoid easily after too many dangerously close to death encounters with the monsters that roamed at night.
When two heavily armed men emerged from the nearby foliage he didn’t know what to do. He stumbled a bit, grabbing his sword, and fell into a sloppy defensive stance. The men smiled a bit and easily swiped his sword aside. One of the men shoved him and he fell back onto the ground. Without a moment to think a heavily armored boot slammed into his chest.
All the air left his lungs for a moment and dark spots filled his vision. “You sure this scrawny kid is a hybrid?” The man whose boot was still digging painfully into his chest asked. Tommy wheezed a bit. The other one chucked. “He’s a runt but definitely a hybrid. Look at the wings” He walked forward and yanked Tommy into a sitting position. He then pulled at Tommy’s wings a bit and he couldn’t help but hiss in pain.
“Dont touch them you dickhead” he practically spat. The man holding his wings hit him in the back of his head harshly. “We’ll fix that foul mouth of yours real quick” Tommy’s arms were yanked behind his back at an awkward angle and tied together.
“He is skinny, and doesn’t seem to be good with a sword. The boss will probably send him to the fighting pit. I doubt he’d last longer than a week.” The man said after finishing the knot on his restraints.
An assessment they later would learn to be very wrong. Tommy was incredibly talented with a sword. With a little more meat on his bones and his life on the line he took out any opponent thrown at him.
When he was first taken to the pit he resisted heavily. After being knocked around a bit and left in “the pit” with a man twice his size who didn’t hesitate to attack him with deadly blows he decided to fight back. For the next few weeks this continued. He tried to leave his opponents alive, just injured enough to satisfy his captors and the audience.
How people could pay to stand around and watch people unwillingly fight was beyond him. If sickened Tommy. Most of them were aware the participants were being forced. It wasn’t voluntary. Somehow they didn’t care, they outright supported it even.
A month into his capture he was asked to speak with the boss. He knew most people who spoke the boss never came back. Not unharmed anyway. He was worried to say the least. Tommy glanced at himself in the mirror. He looked healthier than when he had arrived. His cheeks were less hollow and his ribs weren’t as easy to count. It wasn’t all good though. His body was littered in more scars he had gotten over the past four weeks then he had gotten in his whole life. He was also covered in various fresh marks, scratches, and bruises. Some from fighting, some from little bursts of rebelliousness that resulted in a beating.
A few bits of his wings were also gone. He could still fly as the bits taken weren’t a lot. That didn’t make the process any less painful and irreversible. They had cut little pieces of his wings at the very end and auctioned them off. Apparently the leathery material his wings were made out of sold for a pretty penny.
He made his way to the bosses office. He had only ever seen the man once and he was terrifying. The men that captured him may have been wrong about his fighting skills, but they were right about his mouth. It only took a week for him to become much more subdued.
Tommy entered the room quietly. The boss sat at a desk near the far wall. A bottle of some expensive alcohol Tommy didn’t know the name of sat in front of him. A half empty glass in his hand. When Tommy made eye contact with him he didn’t expect a warm and soft gaze to meet his. He expected piercing eyes that would shake him to his core. Instead he saw a caring look, sweet almost. It was just a little more unsettling than the gaze he expected.
“So you’re the young hybrid who has made quite the name for himself.” The old man hummed. “Well come over here boy. We have quite a bit to discuss”
In the end, Tommy was given a task. He wanted to decline at first. He had zero desire to be sent on the suicide mission the boss had planned. Voicing his opinion left him with a harsh slap to the face and a promise he would be killed anyways for refusing. Tommy figured the worst thing that could happened is he would be killed immediately and he wouldn’t have to fight anymore. There was also the small chance he would be successful in his mission. He’d be rewarded with freedom. So the man said anyways. The seeds of doubt already filled his mind but he decided not to speak out again.
He had to kill the king. How Tommy was supposed to sneak into the heavily guarded castle and kill the king, one of the best fighters in the land, he had no idea. He entertained the idea of running off for a mere 10 seconds before remembering the tracker they put on him when he was first captured. If he tried to run of they’d surely find him. He doesn’t want to know what sort of horrific punishment he would face for such a thing but he doubted it would be as merciful as death.
So he geared up and went on his way. Tommy was terrified. His life was never one without fear. Not knowing exactly when his next meal would be was scary. Being forced to face new opponents in the pit multiple times a day was scary. The boss and his sickeningly sweet eyes and warm tone masking his ill intentions was scary. Being sent into the heart of a kingdom that disliked his kind, with the task to kill the very skilled ruler, was terrifying.
Tommy was surprised when he made it all the way to the kings room before being caught. He held the dagger he was given in his hand tightly. The invisibility potion he had drank wore off at the worst possible moment, just as the king walked in. The boy was shocked to see the king was a hybrid like himself. A piglin hybrid to be exact. When the king’s eyes landed on him they immediately darkened.
“Who are you and what are you doing in my room?” He asked, voice deep and booming. He unsheathed his sword quickly. Tommy took a few steps back and his grip on the dagger lessened. The king’s eyes fell on the dagger before snapping back up to him and his scowl depend. He advanced toward Tommy ready to strike. Tommy couldn’t stop the fearful tremors that wracked his whole body, nor the tears that filled his eyes. Tommy was going to die and the last thing anyone would see if him was him crying pathetically. He shut his eyes tight as the dagger he held dropped from his hand. He waited for the blow to come, waited to be free from fear, but it never came.
He opened his eyes and stared at the king’s boots. “What are you doing here?” He asked again. His hand pulled Tommy’s chin up again and he looked him in the eyes. His face was still angry but he could see the barely concealed concern that adorned it as well. Tommy sucked in a breath. What could he say? ‘Hey there your majesty, don't mind me I’m just here to assassinate you!’
The king stared at him awkwardly a little while longer. “Can you speak?” He questioned and Tommy nodded. His hands wrapped around his upper arms, crossing over his chest. He looked down at the man’s feet again. Much like fighting Tommy found it easier to speak to someone without making eye contact. One of the many habits he developed from his time in the pit.
“I- I’m here to kill you” he managed to force out. He wasn’t sure if it was the overwhelming fear he felt from the man or the shock he hasn’t been killed yet made it so hard to speak. Most likely some combination of the two.
“Well you’re doing a terrible job” the king said, tone slightly amused. He reached his hand out and Tommy flinched back violently. “I’m sorry I’m sorry, I didn’t want- I didn’t mean, I didn’t I didn’t I’m sorry” the words tumbled from his mouth. His hysterical rambling interrupted when the king flicked him on his forehead. He looked up at him quickly and was met with a much kinder expression.
The king pulled him up so he was standing and grabbed his arm gently. “How old are you kid?” He asked, pulling Tommy along as he walked out of the room. Tommy glanced around a bit. How old was he? He figured somewhere around early teens by now. He had been around 9 when his mother had passed. “Fourteen?” he responded, shrugging a bit. The man nodded.
Tommy looked at the decor of the castle. It was rather pretty. He also noticed the large amount of portraits of the king. There were two other men frequently in the art on the walls too. A young man with curly brown hair, and a man a bit older with blonde hair and a kind smile. Tommy was lead into a big bathroom. “Sit” the king commanded.
Finding no reason to ignore the request he sat on the side of the tub. The older hybrid left the room and returned a minute or two later with a medkit. Tommy stared at him warily. “Relax kid, I’m trying to help you” the king chuckled when he saw Tommy’s expression. “You got a name?” He asked as he sat down on a chair in front of Tommy.
“Tommy” he said. He held out his arm after the king motioned for it and he began workin on his injuries. “My name is Technoblade” the king said. “Technoblade? What kind of fuckin name is that?” Tommy breathed out. It was only after the words left his mouth that he realized what he had said. His whole body tensed bracing to be struck. However, just like in Techno’s bedroom, it never came. The only thing he got in return was an amused chuckle and a motion for his other arm.
“So how’d you get so banged up kid?” Techno asked. “Tommy” he said, avoiding the question. Why had the man asked for his name if he was just gonna call him kid? Techno just hummed and continued his questioning “and why were you trying to murder me? That’s a stupid thing to try to do”
Tommy’s face heated. “It’s not like I had a choice” Techno finished his left arm. “So can I assume the people who made you come here to kill me also gave you these injuries?” He asked. Tommy just nodded in response.
Technoblade continued to patch up all of his injuries. After he was finished he was taken to one of the bedroom’s down the hall from Techno’s and given a clean pair of clothes. “Why are you doing this?” Tommy asked. They sat in the kitchen now. Techno stopped mixing a second to look at him. “What cooking? Just because I’m the king doesn’t mean I don’t make my own food” he scoffed.
Tommy fiddled with the sleeve of the warm fluffy sweater he was given. “I mean why are you being nice to me?” He looked up at techno. “I tried to kill you, you could have easily killed me or kicked me out. Why are you doing things for me?”
Techno continued cooking silently for a minute. “Kick you out so you could go back to whoever did that to you? Not happening. I wasn’t going to kill you either. You don’t seem like you deserve it.” He walked over with a pot of food Tommy didn’t recognize. He tilted his head, like a curious puppy. Techno would never admit to the way his heart melted a bit at the action.
”what’s that?” Tommy asked. Not in a rude way, his voice was laced with curiously. “Potato soup” the king responded as he filled two bowls. “As for why I’m helping you, it’s because you look like you need it.” He put the bowl of soup in front of Tommy. “I guess having a soft spot for kids in need is a trait I learned from my dad. I wish he was here now I’ll admit he is way better with kids then I am.”
They are for a little while. Tommy’s bowl was almost empty when Techno asked about where Tommy came from. Tommy had explained him living on the streets before being taken by hybrid traffickers. He noticed the way Techno’s face became very pissed at the mention of that. He then explained the pit and then the mission he was given. Techno listened intently.
Techno walked him to the guest room and assured him he wouldn’t have to worry. Inside the walls of the castle Tommy would be safe from those people. A few days later Tommy had heard the news of the underground trafficking ring being shut down by Techno’s men.
Tommy knew he was safe with Techno. He knew that terrible place no longer existed, and he knew that he no longer had to worry about new injuries replacing his barely healed ones. Sometimes he still woke up terrified, sobs shaking his whole body. Those nights Techno would come into his room and wrap his arms around him. He’d assure Tommy he was safe.
Eventually Tommy looked in the mirror and saw a version of himself he didn’t think he ever would. He was healthy and injury free, his hair was clean and his clothes weren’t torn. For the first time since he lost his mother he felt at home. He felt loved.
He met the rest of Techno’s family. Phil, his dad and the old king. The man quickly grew attached to the boy he had heard about only in letters. They’d fly together often. Wilbur, Techno’s brother, acted resentful at first but even with his constant compliance of Tommy being annoying they could all tell Wilbur loved Tommy too. Wilbur would play instruments for Tommy and play with his hair gently. They all loved the newest addition to their home and he loved them just as much. The four were family in everything but blood.